Telling Mom
by jugglequeen
Summary: Mulder and Scully are at Maggie's house to tell her something.


Mulder is sitting on the couch and is barely able to keep his eyes open. He hasn't really slept a lot lately and the lack of relaxation is finally taking its toll on him although he's used to insomnia and knows how to deal with it. Maybe it's not so much the lack of sleep that is responsible for his exhaustion but the frequent nightly physical exertion. Butterflies make themselves felt in my belly and I decide to let him fall asleep, anticipating a replenished Mulder in my bed tonight.

"Dana, honey, can you give me a hand?" my mother shouts from the kitchen, keeping the luscious thoughts in my head from taking a life of their own.

I hope she hasn't noticed anything yet. She looked somewhat suspiciously when she opened the door to us about half an hour ago. I'm not sure Mulder had managed to get that goofy grin off his face, the one he's been wearing ever since we decided to flush FBI fraternization rules down the toilet and jump head first into this adventure, and boy, what a wonderful adventure it has been so far. I have never been so comfortable with a lover before. It has never felt even remotely like this, so natural, so right, so fulfilling. I guess this is it for me, he's the one. Mulder is going to be the last lover I introduce to my mother.

I don't really have to introduce him to her, of course. She knows him well and she made clear more than once that she wouldn't mind if Mulder and I started a romantic relationship. She likes him. She's the only family member who really likes him. Melissa liked him too. She would shriek out in exhilaration if she was still around. My brothers are not really fans of his. Bill despises him, actually. It will be a bitter pill for him to swallow when he finds out we're lovers. Well, that's his business. I'm indescribably happy, and I want my mother to know.

Mom is not dumb. The second I walked through the front door into my parents' house after I lost my virginity to my high school sweetheart Marcus all those years ago, she knew. 'Care to talk to me about it, Dana?' she asked, and when I shook my head, she added, 'there's only one thing I want you to always keep in mind. Never do it to please someone else but yourself. Do you understand? I don't care who you do it with or when or where, as long as you do it because you want it, and not because some guy tells you he needs it. Alright, sweetheart?' I only nodded, being unable to speak to her about my sexual experience but grateful for her advice, which I have followed my whole life until today.

I wanted Mulder. I wanted him so badly after those long years of secretly yearning for him that I was the one initiating things. And now we are here to let mom in on the new quality of our relationship. If she is already suspicious, she's polite enough not to say anything. I'm not the teenage girl she needs to give a lesson about how to protect herself against male dominance anymore. She loves me and she wants me to be happy, and so she has a right to know I am.

That's what Mulder and I have come here for and now he's fallen asleep on the sofa. He's so handsome when he sleeps. His facial features are relaxed, no furrowed brows, no pinched lips. The corners of his beautiful mouth twitch into a slight smile even. Maybe he's dreaming of me, of us. His ribcage is rising and falling in a slow, regular rhythm, and his hands are folded on his stomach. He looks so peaceful. I can't keep myself from brushing an unruly strand of hair from his forehead.

"Did you hear me, Dana? I asked you to...oops," I hear my mother behind me just very the moment I can't stop myself from placing a gentle kiss on his mouth. I shoot up from my hunching position, my heart threatening to jump out of my ribcage. Now I do feel like a teenage girl.

"Did I just see what I think I saw?"

I'm not able to face her. My eyes still glued to Mulder in dreamland, I ask, "what is it exactly you saw, mom?"

"You kissed Fox on the lips, dear."

The innuendo in her voice is unmistakable. What have I been thinking? That I could put anything over on my mother? That she wouldn't be able to put two and two together? I turn and look at her. Why not get this over and done with right now, despite my sleeping partner in crime being off the hook for the moment? To my utter surprise, she starts laughing.

"Oh, Dana, if you could only see yourself. It's written all over your face!"

"What, mom? What is written on my face?"

"That Fox and you are finally doing it, what else?"

"Oh my god," I groan. I can't believe I'm having this conversation with my mother. I kick Mulder's foot softly with my heel to wake him up. I don't see why I should be grilled alone here.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart. I'm so happy for the two of you. I always wondered how long it would take you. You belong to each other, everyone could see it only the two of you were too stubborn to acknowledge it."

"It's not a matter of being stubborn or not, mom. Mulder and I work together, there are rules to be followed."

"Right, and Fox is a model agent who always goes strictly by the book, I know. I can't believe he waited so long. I knew he loved you from the time you first went missing. The way he took it and later on fought for your life spoke volumes. There must have been a lot of pressure within him seeking for release."

"Mom!"

"What? You think I don't know what's it like when after a long time of yearning for a beloved person you're finally together with that person? I was a Navy wife, remember? I had to cope with your father's long periods of absence many times. What did you think happened the first night on his home leaves? We weren't sexless beings, Dana. We made four children, for heaven's sake."

"Too much information, mom," I say with my hands on my ears. I'm kicking Mulder's foot more forcefully now, I want him to wake and put an end to this awkward conversation. All he does though is groan, then he shifts slightly and even starts snoring slightly. Much to the amusement of my mother.

"He seems to be exhausted. What did you do to him?"

"Mom! I can't believe what I'm hearing. Since when are you so...so..."

"So...what?"

"So eager to talk about my love life?"

"I was always willing to talk with you about your life, Dana, be it your love life or your working life or whatever part of your life you would want to talk to me about. Fact is, you didn't open up about many aspects of your life. You're a very private person, and I've always respected that, but you came here today to let me know about this," her hand is fidgeting between Mulder's sleeping form on the couch and myself, "am I right?"

"Yes, mom, that was our intention. Actually, Mulder insisted we tell you, and now he is of no help whatsoever," I hiss.

I want to be angry at him, I really do, but when I look at him these days, I can't help being overwhelmed by this warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach. I simply can't prevent smiling at him. Mom chuckles. And before I can react, she closes the gap between us and engages me in a hug.

"You're adorable, Dana. It's so obvious how deeply you're in love with him, and it makes me very happy. Fox is a wonderful man and I am certain that he loves you back equally intensely. You are feeling it too, aren't you?"

"Yes, mom, I am," I whisper into her neck, "he is my perfect other and I don't want to ever lose him again."

I get a kiss on my forehead and a gentle pinch of my cheek. There's only one thing missing to complete the motherly care program I'm used to since I was a kid.

"I think I have a box of the Swiss chocolate you like so much in the pantry. We should have some with our tea."

When she's back with the tea pot and a crystal bowl full of chocolate, I'm huddling against her on the couch opposite to the one Mulder is still sleeping on like a baby. A very cute baby, I have to say. Mom and I drink tea and eat chocolate and I'm grateful to have the best mother in the world. I'm relieved the news is out and that she's so happy for us.

At the bottom of the second pot of tea and the third refill of chocolate, Mulder begins to stir. We both watch him closely as his legs move, his body shifts and his eyes finally flutter open. When he sees us observing him, he straightens his lean body into a sitting position, combs his hair clumsily with his fingers and clears his throat.

"Uhum, sorry. I must have fallen asleep for a short moment."

"A short moment? You slept three hours straight, Mulder," I tell him.

He's shocked by this information. "What? No! That's not possible! Really?"

"Look out the window, Fox. It's already dark outside."

Mom and I are both staring at him. I'm trying to keep a blank look but mom is showing him meaningful smile.

"Why are you looking at me like this? Did I snore?"

"Only slightly," I calm him, my eyes boring into his. I feel my eyebrow taking a hike. It does it once in a while against my will, as it is doing right now.

"Did I miss something here, ladies? Why are you staring at me like I have grown a second head?"

I have to bite my lip in order not to burst into laughter because of his questioning expression. He doesn't have a clue.

"No, Mulder, there's nothing you missed," I say casually as I slowly rise from the place next to my mother. I stroll over to him, bow down in front of him, and cup his dumbfounded face with both hands. "Absolutely nothing," I repeat, marking my words with a soft kiss on his mouth. When I feel him reciprocate in bewildered wonder, hearing mom rejoice behind me, I can't but think how wonderful my life is.


End file.
